1. Detection of XMRV/pMuLV Infections in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Healthy Blood Donors Shyh-Ching Lo, Ph.D., M.D. Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies & Division of Human Tissue Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies CBER/FDA -- BPAC December 14, 2010

2. Detection of MLV-related virus gene sequences in blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy blood donors Shyh-Ching Lo a,1, Natalia Pripuzova a, Bingjie Li a, Anthony L. Komaroffb, Guo-Chiuan Hung a, Richard Wang c, and Harvey J. Alter c,1 a Tissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies and Division of Human Tissues, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapy, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, MD 20892; b Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115; and c Department of Transfusion Medicine, The Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 Contributed by Harvey J. Alter, May 25, 2010 (sent for review March 23, 2010

3. 3 The research studies of Lo’s lab at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) in the early 1990’s led to the discovery and characterization of previously unknown human mycoplasmas in patients with AIDS. Subsequent studies by others reported that infections with the mycoplasmal agents were associated with CFS in the mid-1990s. Blood samples of CFS patients followed at specialized centers or by individual physicians were sent to us for investigation of possible mycoplasmal infections. However, our studies concluded that there was no evidence of an association between with Mycoplasma fermentans or M. penetrans infections and CFS, nor could we culture any established or novel mycoplasma from the blood of these subjects. Portions of the CFS blood samples had been maintained in frozen storage at -80 ⁰ C, provided a unique opportunity to study for the evidence, if any, of XMRV infection in CFS patients. Why are we studying XMRVs?

4. 4 Blood samples examined for evidence of infections with XMRV or MLV-related viruses Anthony Komaroff, M.D., Director of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research center, Brigham & Women's hospital, professor of medicine, Harvard medical school sent 29 blood samples obtained from 25 CFS patients. Other CFS centers/clinicians provided 12 blood samples of CFS patients. -- A total of 41 blood samples obtained from 37 patients were kept in frozen storage at - 80 ⁰ C from mid 1990’s. Harvey Alter, M.D. of NIH provided previously frozen PBMCs from 44 volunteer blood donors collected between 2003-2006. Summary of results: 32 out of 37 (86.5%) patients tested positive by a nested PCR targeting MLV-like virus gag gene. In comparison, 3 out of 44 (6.8%) of volunteer healthy blood donors tested positive.

5. Detection of MLV-like gag gene sequences in the PBMCs of CFS patients by a nested PCR 380 bp 730 bp M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Primers: 419F/1154R 1 st round PCR (40 cycles) Primers: NP116/NP117 2 nd round PCR (45 cycles) (CFS patients -- PBMCs) Detection of MLV-like gag gene sequences in the PBMCs of CFS patients by a nested PCR

6. Detection of MLV-like gag gene sequences in the plasma of some CFS patients by RT-PCR with nested amplification 380 bp M 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Primers: NP116/NP117 2 nd round PCR (45 cycles) CFS patients – plasma samples

7. Detection of MLV-like gag gene sequences in the PBMCs of healthy blood donors by nested PCR 7 Primers: GAG-I-F/GAG-I-R 2 nd round PCR (45 cycles) M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 M 413 bp 730 bp A. B. Primers: 419F/1154R 1 st round PCR (40 cycles) (Healthy Blood Donors- PBMC)

8. Alignment of the amplified gag gene sequences (746 bp) with those of xenotropic and polytropic MLV-related virus gag genes

9. Phylogenetic Analysis of MLV-related Virus gag Gene Sequences Amplified After The 1 st Round of Nested PCR (746 bp): More Closely Related to Those of Polytropic MLVs 9 0.01 (mP) (P) (mP) (P) (mP) ‘Classical’ XMRV

10. Comparison of amino acid sequences and phylogenetic analysis for the open reading frames of MLV-like gag genes (746 bp) amplified 10 ‘Classical’ XMRV P-MuLV-like

11. Phylogenetic analysis for the MLV-like env genes amplified from a patient with CFS and a healthy blood donor. 0.05 5922F 6173R 5942F 6159R ‘Classical’ XMRV

12. All PCR-based studies will and should have concerns of contaminations: In the study of XMRV and MLV-related viruses, there are three main concerns of contamination: Contamination by PCR amplicons. Contamination by MuLVs or viral vectors studied in the laboratories. Contamination by mouse DNA-- Mouse DNA genome contains endogenously many closely related proviruses of MLVs or mERVs.

13. 13 Development of a semi-nested PCR targeting mouse-specific mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) It is necessary to verify that no contamination of mouse DNA in the assay system and in the clinical samples that tested positive for the MLV-related virus gene sequences. A highly sensitive nucleic acid PCR assay targeting mouse species-specific DNA sequences that are well-conserved and are present in multiple copies in the mouse cell will be the most ideal assay. A semi-nested PCR assay targeting mouse mtDNA (~ 200 -1800 DNA copies/cell) was developed using the unique sequences absent in human nuclear and mtDNA as the PCR primers.

14. 14

15. 15 H 2 O 0fg 2.5fg 5fg 10fg 50fg 0.1pg 0.2pg 0.5pg M 40pg 20pg 10pg 1pg 0.5pg 0.2pg 0fg H 2 O MLV gag gene specific amplicon: 730 bp Mouse DNA added into 35 ng of human DNA: Mouse mitochondria specific amplicon: 286 bp Detecting Mouse DNA by mouse- specific mtDNA semi-nested PCR 1 st round of PCR: mt15982F/mt16267R Detecting Mouse DNA by MLV-like virus gag gene specific PCR 1 st round of PCR: 419F/1154R (40 cycles) A. B. 2 nd round of semi-nested PCR: mt16115F/mt16267R 2 nd round of nested PCR: GAG-I-F/GAG-I-R (45 cycles) Mouse mitochondria specific amplicon: 153 bp MLV gag gene specific amplicon: 413 bp

16. Highly sensitive mouse-specific mtDNA semi-nested PCR detected no mouse DNA in the clinical samples 16 A. 1 st round of nested PCR: mt15982F/mt16267R B. 2 nd round of nested PCR: mt16115F/mt16267R Mouse mitochondria specific amplicon: 286 bp Mouse mitochondria specific amplicon: 153 bp 0fg 1fg 2.5fg 5fg 10fg 50fg Mouse DNA added into 35 ng of human DNA: M 8 17 20 25 H2OH2O CFS patients: BD-22BD-26BD-28BD-21BD-23 Healthy blood donors: 8 17 20 25 H2OH2O BD-22BD-26BD-28BD-21BD-23 ***

17. Re-examination of blood of CFS patients previously tested positive for MLV-like gag gene sequences after ~15 years Blood samples were obtained from 8 CFS patients whose previous frozen blood tested positive for the MLV-like gene sequences. Seven of the 8 repeat blood samples tested positive by the nested PCR assay for MLV-like gag gene sequences. The viral gene copy numbers in the repeat blood samples did not increase. On the contrary, they appeared to be lower than those found in the previous blood samples of these patients. The gag gene sequences showed noticeable variations in blood obtained from most of the patients 15 years later.

18. 18

20. 20 Conclusions: The study supports the earlier finding of MLV-related virus gene sequences in blood of many patients with CFS. The viral sequences can also be detected in a small fraction of volunteer healthy blood donors. Differing from the reported finding of near genetic identity of all XMRVs in patients with CFS, prostate cancers and in blood donors, our analysis of the viral gene sequences revealed a more genetically diverse group of MLV-like viruses. The viral gene sequences were more closely related to those of polytropic MLVs. Our study shows that the zoonotic MLV-related viruses are infecting some members of people. Disease association and possibility of blood transmission of the MLV-like retroviruses in human warrant further studies.

21. 21 Acknowledgements Tissue Microbiology Lab/OCTGT Bingjie Li, M.D. Natalia Pripuzova, Ph.D. Guo-Chiuan Hung, Ph.D. Clinical Center, NIH Harvey Alter, M.D. Richard Wang, Ph.D. Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School Anthony Komaroff, M.D. OCTGT/CBER, FDA Raj Puri, M.D., Ph.D. Celia Witten, Ph.D., M.D. OBRR/CBER, FDA Jay Epstein, M.D.

22. Acknowledgements Tissue Microbiology Lab/OCTGT OCTGT/CBER, FDA Bingjie Li, M.D. Raj Puri, M.D., Ph.D Natalia Pripuzova, Ph.D. Celia Witten, Ph.D., M.D. Guo-Chiuan Hung, Ph.D. OBRR/CBER, FDA. Clinical Center, NIH Jay Epstein, M.D Harvey Alter, M.D. Richard Wang, Ph.D. Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Anthony Komaroff, M.D.